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Twin Gods
Participating Countries: Great Neck Empire,Kingdom of Markand Basic Holy Days: Name When Aolan's Feast Midsummer Day Zarak's Hunt Midwinter Night Eothal's Festival Spring Equinox Country-Specific Holy Days: Name When Country The Founding of the City 1st full moon after Spring Equinox Caralman, GNE Xalaphel's Feast Autumn Equinox GNE Xemilan's Marriage 2nd full moon after Midsummer GNE Deltar's Judgement 3rd new moon after Spring Equinox GNE Deltar's Judgement Autumn Equinox Markand Centers of Worship: Center Where Aolrak On the coast, at the mouth of the Great River. Zarak's Gate The cave the Great River emerges from. Eakelaator The capital city of the GNE Deleoth The capital city of Markand Deities: Aolan the Warrior of Light Zarak the Destroyer, Ruler of the Night Various local and civic spirits. Of note in the Great Neck Empire: Caralman, Spirit of the City; Eothal, Guardian of the East; Xalaphel, Guardian of the West; Xemilan, Defender of Xeph; Deltar, Defender of Humans Of note in Markand: Eothal, Guardian of the East; Deltar, Guardian of the West Preferred Mantles: Conflict, Death, Destruction, Dominion, Energy, Guardian, Justice, Life, Light and Darkness, Physical Power General Description The priesthood of the Twin Gods serve the entire pantheon, as well as the various local spirits. A civic priesthood, they maintain graveyards and shrines, and provide care to the poor and elderly. A small fraction of the priests dedicate themselves to a particular god, usually Aolan, Eothal, Deltar, or Zarak. In addition to the listed gods, the priesthood also worship and placate well-deities, spring-spirits, forest ghosts, and all forms of spirits, vengeful or otherwise. The commoners are both devout and superstitious, nad highly conservative. The educated upper classes affect to be both less devout and superstitious, but they frequently know and keep more legends than the commoners do. Timeline Year Event -1100 Humans known to have settled the coasts of the Great Sea. -753 Aolrak founded. -750 The Great Temple of Aolan built; the Rivide tribe is conquered by Aolrak. c. -550 Noble and Commoner castes established. Aolrak controls the Great Neck and the northeastern coast of the Great Sea. -149 to -125 The Republic conquers the western coast of the Great Sea, and destroys the Xalar Empire's first capitol. The Xalar Empire is now bound solely to the Inner Sea. -115 First temples to Xalaphel and Xemilan built. 697 to 700 Eakelaa Emperor Alenugaalea and the 9 Tribes conquer the Merogathian Kingdom. 702 to 706 Eakelaa Emperor Alenugaalea and the 9 Tribes conquer the Berganthian Kingdoms. 707 Eakelaa Emperor Alenugaalea reforms the Great Neck Empire and declares himself Emperor. 715 Xalaphel rises in status, replacing Deltar as Guardian of the West. Deltar becomes active as Defender of the Humans. Detailed Deities Aolan, the Warrior of Light is the deity of the Sun and nobles. He is the twin brother of Zarak, both of them waking in the tides of the coast. He is generally depicted as a mailed warrior, holding a flaming solar disk as a shield, and holding either a spear or sword. His priests don't interact with the commoners often, but are generally well-received when they do. In daily life, Aolan receives prayers for strength, guidance, and pleas for victory (usually martial). Aolan is noted for two orders - the Knights of the Sun (sacred heavy cavalry and temple guards), and the Deacons of Light (healers and slayers of undead). The Deacons are very well known, and can expect a warm welcome wherever they go. Zarak the Destroyer and Ruler of the Night is the deity of the Moon, Stars and Death. He is the twin brother of Aolan, and woke first. He is generally depicted as a heavily armored, helmed and faceless man, mounted atop a night-black wyrm and weilding a large axe. His few priests conduct the funerals of important people or mass funerals; none are comfortable with the priests, who are at best tolerated and feared. In daily life, Zarak receives pleas against untimely deaths, wards against sickness, and preayers for vengance. The rumors of heretical sects that seek to cause death, instead of observing it, are never-ending, and never-confirmed. Eothal, Guardian of the East, and Matron of the Heavens, is Aolan's wife. She is the deity of marriage, fertility, crops, and the defense of the home. She is usually depicted as a buxom matron seated on a throne wearing rich robes; on her left side is propped a shield with a tree and sun emblazoned, on her right is a mace, and she holds in her lap a cornucopia that spills forth fruits and foods between her legs. Her priests are a common sight and are a large part of everyone's daily right, presiding over births, marriages, and crop blessings. People pray to her for almost all their needs - good spouses, long and healthy lives, good harvests, and thanksgivings. Though she has no dedicated orders, worshippers of the Twin Gods who are healers are often devoted to her, and almost always priests as well. The cultural connection is so strong that any healer is expected to be one of her priests, even if obviously foreign-born. Deltar, whether he is Guardian of the West or Defender of Humans, is the son of Eothal. He is the deity of law, justice, trade and craftsmanship. He is usually depicted as a hale man, clothed in rich robes and standing upright; he holds a staff (sometimes a spear) that balances a scale, with various tools belted around his waist. His other hand grips a partially unrolled scroll, and one foot is often resting atop an anvil. He is a large part of a craftsman's or trader's life, invoked at the signing of contracts, at the taking of oaths, or when judgements of any sort are given. His priests are the scribes and keepers of public records, often serving as unimpeachable witnesses. In the Great Neck Empire, an order dedicated to Deltar acts to right wrongs committed on humans, bringing their cases against the nobility. Xalaphel is the primary deity worshipped by Xeph in the Great Neck Empire. He is the deity of discovery, stealth, communications, and travel. He is depicted as a scout holding a scroll tube running from the forest into fields, with a bow and quiver strapped to his back. He has no formal priesthood, though he receives prayers for swift and safe journeys, and accurate and speedy communications almost every day. In times of danger, many also pray to him to conceal them in safety. Xemilan is Xalaphel's daughter and Deltar's wife. She is the deity of beauty, the fine arts, charity and mercy. She is always depicted as a tall and slender smiling beauty clothed in delicate silk robes, usually dancing with musical instruments, poems, sculptures, books, and paintings in the foreground. Like her father, she has no formal priesthood. She is often invoked by artists seeking patrons, by those in desperate straights seeking aid, and by those standing before Deltar's judgement. Caralman is the spirit of the Great Neck Empire's capitol. Stories depict him as a spy and gossiper, as a mighty warrior, and an even mighty reveler, a deity of mischief and humor. He has no formal priesthood. Category: SettingCategory: Religions